OMS 33

Park Dong-sik opened his eyes to the sound of murmuring voices. Through the window, he could see a pure white landscape. Where was this place? After wiping the drool from his mouth and sitting up, he saw Kim Jun-han was outside talking with someone. When he opened the door and came out, the elderly woman who had been talking with Kim Jun-han rushed over and grabbed his hand.

“Hello, Young Madam. Is this your first time at the villa? I’m called Mrs. Gyeongju. I’m not from Gyeongju, but my son’s name is Park Gyeong-ju. Haha.”

Park Dong-sik awkwardly nodded at the woman’s hearty laugh. Yes…Mrs. Gyeongju was the first person here to call him Young Madam. Everyone else had called him by name as if they’d agreed to it. It wasn’t like he wanted to be called Madam. However, it would be different if he was the boss.

The villa Kim Jun-han mentioned was built with wood but gave off a sophisticated feeling. Large windows opened in all directions, and there was a large jacuzzi on the terrace. Steam was rising from it, suggesting it had been filled in advance.

Park Dong-sik headed over to the jacuzzi and stirred the water with his hand. The temperature was pleasantly warm.

“If I had known Young Madam was coming too, I would have floated some flower petals in the bath. Hoho.”

“Flowers…haha…”

As he laughed awkwardly, Mrs. Gyeongju pushed his back.

“Go inside. It’s cold. You’ll catch a cold.”

Stumbling inside, he saw that both the walls and ceiling were made of wood. Through the large windows, a snow-covered forest was visible at a glance, and a fireplace was burning on one side. It was like a scene from a fairy tale. Park Dong-sik looked at the mounted deer head with antlers hanging above the fireplace. A taxidermy…

Mrs. Gyeongju came up next to him and satisfied his curiosity.

“The CEO got that on his first hunt. The Chairman was so happy.”

“Ah…”

“Look at the childhood photos. He was handsome even then.”

She pointed to photos on the shelf. There were several frames there. Chairman Kim and Kim Jun-han holding hunting rifles looked quite like an affectionate father and son. Kim Tae-han was also in the picture, but unlike the dignified Kim Jun-han, his face was full of mischief as he smiled broadly. Park Dong-sik found himself smiling too. It looked like he wasn’t much different even when young.

While looking around, he heard a sound and looked out to see an unfamiliar car stopping and a stranger getting out of the driver’s seat. The man was wearing military pants and a pulled-down cap and had quite a good build.

“Gyeong-ju is here. That’s my son.”

The man and Kim Jun-han were talking. Should I go out too? As he stood there hesitating, Mrs. Gyeongju brought out some tea and snacks. She boasted about how fragrant this year’s tea leaves were. Park Dong-sik half-listened to her talk while looking out the window.

Kim Jun-han glanced his way while talking with the person called Gyeong-ju.

“By the way, no children yet for the two of you? The Chairman must be waiting eagerly.”

Park Dong-sik gave a brief “Well…” in response. Chairman Kim might want a child between himself and Lee Hee-soo rather than with Kim Jun-han. That old man was definitely capable of such thinking.

“I’m so happy to see you two together. Actually, when the CEO came alone last month, his expression wasn’t good, so I was worried the whole time.”

“Did he come hunting that day too?”

“No. He said he came just to rest for a while. Come to think of it, it’s been hard to see Young Master Tae-han lately. When he was young, he caused so much trouble here. He drove me crazy.”

I could imagine without having to see it. He still had puppy-like qualities now, so what must he have been like when young? Thinking about him running around like a fish with that mischievous face from the photo almost made him smile. That was when Mrs. Gyeongju’s phone rang. After taking the call, she got up.

“I’ll be going now. I’ve prepared the meal. Leave the cleanup to me. I’ll do it when I come tomorrow. I’ve prepared wine snacks too, so have a cozy evening later. Ah, the CEO will be stopping by my house. Will you be okay alone?”

“Yes, of course.”

She said goodbye and left with her coat. Left alone, Park Dong-sik looked out the window. Kim Jun-han was looking this way with a cigarette in his mouth before getting into the car he’d brought here.

Shortly after, two cars left the villa. Left alone, Park Dong-sik sat blankly before getting up to smoke. He went outside, lit a cigarette, and admired the snow scene while blowing smoke into the air.

“It looks like there’s a fucking lot of snow in Gangwon-do.”

He wandered around the villa with his cigarette. Going around to the back, he saw a storage shed in the distance. What’s that? Do they store firewood here? Getting closer, he saw it had a large padlock.

One thing flashed through his mind. Don’t rich people keep cash or gold separately? There might be a safe in the house, but if they hide it in a remote place like this, it wouldn’t be easy to find. Park Dong-sik chewed on his cigarette end while contemplating and looked at the keyhole of the padlock.

I could probably open this…There must be something useful in the house. As he turned around, there was a thump sound from inside. Huh? Wondering if he’d misheard, he put his ear close to the storage shed.

“Is someone in there?”

Silence. Did I mishear? The sun was setting and the wind was starting to blow. A snowstorm was coming, and Park Dong-sik wrapped his arms around himself, thinking that the entire thing was strange. As he turned to leave, a “hehehe” sound like crying came along with the wind.

Park Dong-sik’s expression hardened as he slowly stopped walking. Was that sound just now from the storage? He went back to the storage and listened carefully. After a sound that could have been crying or laughing, suddenly, there was a thump, and the door shook.

Shit! The startled Park Dong-sik stepped back. A brief moan followed. Park Dong-sik realized something. If it were a ghost, it would have already come through that door. This was a person. But why would a person be in there?

“Hey! Is someone in there!”

As if answering, there was a muffled “Mmph!” sound. After imagining all sorts of things, Park Dong-sik looked back. It would take quite a while for Kim Jun-han to return after leaving the villa. Park Dong-sik rushed to the villa and searched through all the drawers.

He found a long wire on the shelf and quickly ran back to the storage shed with it. His footprints crunched in the snow. His heart raced in his chest. He bent the wire into two pieces and poked at the hole.

“Damn. It’s not working well. My hands are frozen.”

As he worked his hands diligently, click—the lock opened. No more sounds came from inside. As Park Dong-sik carefully opened the door, he almost screamed. There was a person collapsed on the ground right in front of him.

The man, with dried blood caked on his head and a mess of a face, discovered Park Dong-sik and struggled. Mmph! Mmph! Mmph! Park Dong-sik checked inside the storage shed, leaving the man be. He noticed an open metal box.

Isn’t that used for keeping dogs…?Don’t tell me he was locked in there and escaped…?

The man wriggled over and grabbed Park Dong-sik’s feet with his bound hands. At the sight of him crying “mmph mmph,” Park Dong-sik looked around, helped the man sit up, and ripped off the tape covering his mouth. His lips were swollen and cracked white, he looked terrible. The man cried and moved his lips.

“Hee-soo!”

Park Dong-sik’s eyes opened wide. Someone who knows Hee-soo? Before he could ask who he was, the man pressed his head against Park Dong-sik’s feet and wailed.

“Please save me! I was wrong! I won’t do it again! Please spare me! I never intended to spread your video. I just needed money. That’s why I came looking! I won’t do it again! I won’t even show my face to you! Please, please save me. Hee-soo! Pleeeease!”

Park Dong-sik looked down at the man with a hardened expression on his face. What is this bastard even saying? Then the man raised his head and lunged like a beast with a face covered in tears and snot. The man suddenly tackled Park Dong-sik and started strangling him with his bound hands.

Momentarily caught off guard, Park Dong-sik struggled for breath. Kugh! Kugh!

“You bitch! I said I was sorry! I asked for forgiveness! Did you have to go this far?! You fucking whore! You were crazy about it every time too!”

Click—a gun barrel was aimed at the man’s head. The strangling hands slowly loosened, and the man’s face turned pale. Still lying down, Park Dong-sik rolled his eyes up to look. Kim Jun-han had returned somehow and was expressionlessly pointing a gun at the man’s forehead.

“P-Please spare me…”

The man begged in terror. Park Dong-sik took the opportunity to push the man away and got up, dusting himself off. As he massaged his choked neck, Kim Jun-han took out a knife from his pocket and swiftly cut the tape binding the man’s hands and the rope around his feet.

“Why did you cut those off? He’s completely crazy!”

Kim Jun-han completely ignored him and aimed the gun at the man.

“Run. I’ll give you 10 seconds.”

This was ridiculous. I’m the one who was attacked, so why are you deciding to let him run? The man staggered to his feet. Whether from lack of strength or due to his fear, his legs were visibly shaking.

“R-Really? You’ll let me live?”

“One.”

Without another word, the man spun around and ran unsteadily in the direction of the forest. Kim Jun-han stopped counting. Just before the man disappeared into the darkness, he raised the gun to his shoulder and pulled the trigger without a moment’s hesitation.

Bang—The gunshot rang out, and after quickly ejecting the shell, he aimed again.

Watching this, park Dong-sik grabbed his gun barrel.

“Are you crazy! Are you really going to kill him?”

Kim Jun-han lowered the gun and coldly snapped, “It seems you still have feelings for your old friend?”